The document discusses the sustainability efforts and developments of WACREN (West and Central African Research and Education Network), including the establishment of NRENs in various West African countries and recent organizational changes. Key points include partnerships, infrastructure developments, and strategies to reduce reliance on donor funding, emphasizing the need for community engagement and innovative services. The presentation also outlines a proposed network topology and offers tips for NREN sustainability.

1. Ensuring NREN sustainability
Osun-Ife REN Conference
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife, 25 November 2013
Omo OAIYA
WACREN
omo@wacren.net

2. Overview
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About WACREN
Recent Developments
Developments at country level
Proposed Topology
Activities
Sustaining WACREN
Business and Financial Models
Sustainability Tips
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3. About WACREN
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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
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4. Our NRENs
8 Established NRENs
• GARNET - Ghana
• snRER - Senegal
• MaliREN - Mali
• RITER - Cote d’Ivoire
• NigerREN - Niger
• GabonREN - Gabon
• TogoREN- Togo
• NgREN- Nigeria
Ongoing Initiatives in Benin, Cameroon, Burkina Faso,
Chad and Guinea
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5. Recent developments
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First WACREN AGM (Abuja, July 2013)
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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)
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CEO took office on 1st October 2013
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First Board (virtual) meeting in October 2013
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6. NREN Development
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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 up
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7. NREN Development
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snRER
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Other countries
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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
RITER (ci): data centers commissioned; negotiation with
telecom operators for interconnection in progress
TogoREN: challenges at campus level (campus network of
Université de Kara)
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8. Many Possibilities
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9. Proposed Topology (1)
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10. Proposed Topology (2)
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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’s
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11. International activities
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Discussion underway with ASREN for sharing rack space in London
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Router donated by Cisco/ISOC
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RFI sent to NRENs for establishment of first link to GEANT
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Meeting ASREN and UA in London
ei4Africa
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Raise awareness and build build cooperation between EuroAfrican NRENs, RENs & user communities
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Produce a state-of-the-art study of e-Infrastructure application
uptake in Africa
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Flagship demonstrations to illustrate relevance
AfricaConnect
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EC supported regional network of Southern and Eastern African
countries using terrestrial facilities with interconnection to
GÉANT
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Phase II readiness survey Conference and Central Africa underfoot
for West
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12. Sustainability
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What does this mean to us?
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Ability to finance WACREN from service revenues
Progressively reduce dependency on donor funding
How do we plan to achieve?
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Long term transparent operational plan with
ownership and support from NREN members
Build and sustain demand for services
Reduce operating costs
Involve private sector
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13. Critical Elements
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Low Internet bandwidth prices
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Low cost campus wireless
Innovative R&E services
Well-trained and motivated ICT staff
Community participation in service
development and governance.
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14. WACREN Business Model
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Skinny Secretariat
Federate interests of NREN communities
Capitalize network to reduce operating costs
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Indefeasible Right of Use - IRU
Share costs of international connections
Leverage NREN Capacities
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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
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15. Financial Model
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Secretariat and Staffing Costs
Costs of Regional Network
International Connectivity
Service Costs
Capacity Building
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16. Sustainability Tips for NRENs
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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!
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17. Ese pupo
I 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: omo@wacren.net
Website: http://www.wacren.net
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